


His Own Prisoner

by Celinarose



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-05-29 20:04:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15080702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celinarose/pseuds/Celinarose
Summary: The prisoner has a visitor who could change everything.





	1. Chapter 1

The doors to his cell opened with a loud creak, and he blinked rapidly as he turned towards the light that he was not used to. The small damp little prison did not have any windows. After all, it was reserved for only the worst of the prisoners.

"A visitor!" the guard declared in a loud, booming voice, and Hans winced at the noise.  _A visitor? For him? Perhaps one of his brothers had taken pity on him at last..._ He smiled a bitter smile.

But the figure that entered the cell was not one of his brothers, much to his surprise.

"My Queen," he spoke, his voice little more than a whisper. He did not have the strength to speak further. She did not seem to care, however.

With a wave of her hand, she created a chair of ice for herself, right in front of the wall where he was chained. He couldn't help smirking slightly. The dim light still obscured her face partly, but he could see from her expression that she was perfectly serious.

"I have a proposal," she said, calmly. He shivered, but whether it was because of the ice in her voice or the ice in his cell, he did not know. "A question, rather. Answer it correctly, and you will be let go. I will personally make sure of it."

He leaned back in shock, squinting slightly at her face. She was certainly not joking, he realised. But he still could not figure out what this meant. Surely the Queen of Arendelle had not come all the way here to ask him a single question?

"What...question?" he managed to croak out. She smiled in response, and for the first time in his life, he was truly terrified of the Snow Queen. Her expression was indescribable.

"Why?" she asked, her breath fogging in front of her.

 _Why,_  he asked himself. Why did he go to Arendelle, of all places? Why did he choose Anna to hurt? Why did he help the people when he could have easily closed the doors of the castle? Why did he  _fail?_ Why did he choose to rot in the cell when he could leave and burn the entire building with a single wave of his hand?

" _I don't know."_

She lifted her chin higher, her eyes never leaving his face. Then, in a sudden motion, she flicked her fingers. The cast iron doors of the cell turned to ice and then shattered to smithereens. She got up from her seat and walked to the now door-less entrance, her dress trailing behind her.

When she reached the threshold, she paused.

 _"Correct,"_ she said simply, before walking out.

He noticed the guards weren't standing nearby anymore. Looking down at his hands, he saw his shackles converted to frost.

He smiled as the small flame built in his glove-less hand, melting the metal.

_This would be fun._

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a long time since he had been on a ship. He missed it, really. It had been one of his favorite things back when he had been a free man.

 

Not that his father or brothers had approved, of course. Hamish, who had been incharge of the navy of the Southern Isles, had nearly banned him from ever boarding a ship again.

 

In fact, the last time he had been on the deck of a sailing ship was on his way to Arendelle.

 

And what an ill-fated visit that had turned out to be...

 

Instinctively, he turned to _her._ She too, was standing on the deck. But unlike him, she did not seem to be enjoying the fresh air. She stood as she always did. Cold, stone-faced, rigid.

 

_Frozen like ice,_ he thought,  a slight smirk appearing on his face. It seemed to him that she had not really changed at all, though the whispers he had heard indicated otherwise.

 

She was different now, warmer, friendlier,  _loved._ Anna had ‘fixed’  everything that had been wrong with  her sister, supposedly. 

 

He wondered how the younger sibling could be so naive. People couldn’t be fixed in minutes. People couldn’t wipe away years and years of pain in a single moment of happiness. What the princess had done was simply show her a way to control her powers, and in the process, created another mask for her to wear.

 

He looked down at his own hands, covered in cream-coloured gloves again. He had learnt to tame his fire long ago. It was easy enough to know that he had to think of things that made him happy and  hard enough to know the list would never be a long one. After all, his brothers made it their personal goal to make his life miserable. He could have used his powers against them, of course. But unlike what  _she_ thought of him, he wasn’t a complete monster.

 

He was still gazing at regal stance from afar, when he heard the crew shout that land was near. None of them noticed the chill in the air. None but him. He smiled. _She was scared._ _Terrified, even._

 

He slid his hands into his pockets and strolled towards her. The wood beneath her feet was slowly being covered in frost, he realised.

 

S he did not hear him approach, her eyes fixed on the distant kingdom they were sailing towards. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

 

She flinched at the contact, and brushed away his hand before turning to look at him.

 

“ _Afraid?”_ he asked, quietly, without a hint of mockery in his tone.

 

She laughed mirthlessly, and turned away, as if to leave. But she didn’t, stopping short mid-way. It surprised him, and perhaps even her.

 

“ _Yes,”_ she replied, with a small sigh.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2! :D Sorry this took so long!


	3. Chapter 3

She alights first, just as a queen should. Her subjects are waiting in anticipation, cheering, even, for her ship to anchor. His keen eye catches that she stiffens slightly at the sight of the crowd. Everyone else is too excited at the arrival of the ship to notice. Even in her hesitation, she is calm and graceful, regal. Her emotions last only a momnet on her face before they are hidden away, and a smile is plastered on.

He feels a twinge of pain as he watches Anna rush up to her sister and embrace her. Elsa returns the gesture, her false happiness not reaching her eyes. Hans does not understand how the younger one never notices her sister's pretence. But then he reminds himself that she had never been good at seeing through masks.

The crowds follow the royal sisters and their retinue, disappearing slowly. He is the last to leave the ship, of course. The hated prisoner, the villain of the story that the people of Arendelle knew about their Queen and Princess. The few that remain by the docks when he descends, glare at him cruelly. They remind him, within mere seconds of his setting foot on the kingdom, that he is not welcome.  
He wants to retort, to scream at them, to remind _them_ , what he remembers; a part of the story they chose to forget. The part where he was the one providing them shelter against the cold storm their Queen had brought upon them. He knows they do not see him as that man anymore, who brought smiles of gratitude to their faces as he offered warmth clothes and food to them when they needed it most. The gestures were not what had been a part of his plan, and he had little reason to give away blankets and soup, but he had not wnaged the people to suffer for their Queen's folly. The same people that now turn their backs and sneer at him.

He wishes that he did not blame them, but he does. They have omitted everything in their pursuit to call him a monster. His is the lot of the fallen, the vilified, the detested.

It strikes him that perhaps this was the Queen's intention. A pretence to gain a part of his trust, and then to throw him into the very heart of the kingdom that loathed him. It is much crueler than an isolated dungeon at his former home.

He lets out a small laugh, that no one else hears, just as they approach the castle gates. He contrasts the image of him being led in as a prisoner, with guards watching his every move, with the previous time he had walked through the same doors, as an honoured guest and a representative of his kingdom.

" _How low the mighty have fallen,"_ he whispers mockingly to himself. The castle that is to be his new prison looms above him.


	4. Chapter 4

_Traitor._

The word used to belong to him, once, though not by his choice. But that was a long time ago.

The people of Arendelle have bigger problems to deal with, than a former foe. The word holds a much more dangerous meaning now. There is a traitor in the castle, and much as Anna wishes otherwise, the aforementioned traitor is not him.

It is someone else. Someone they trust. Someone they should not be trusting.

With a mole in the kingdom, revealing theor diplomatic secrets and plans, and thereby ruining them, and a war on the horizon, Arendelle cracks.

He does not particularly care about the fact that the castle is in a constant state of superficial calm that hides the terrified chaos underneath. What he does care about is that inspite of all the people pretending to be pacified, she is not.

He has never seen her like this. Never anything but composed and regal. But now, she lashes out. Her frustration is evident to anyone that knows her at all. Which, was a shorter list than one might expect, he found.

But this does mean he now knows why she has brought him along. She thinks he can save them, find the spy, and perhaps, just perhaps, save _her._ She is wrong. He betrayed them once, yes. But his plan was never so well-woven and intricate.

He doesn't tell her, of course. Just another white lie, to save himself some trouble.

"You suspect him," he tells her one day, having followed her gaze. It isn't a question. It never is. But she shakes her head anyway.

"Not him," she responds. They both know precisely who she is speaking of. "His...friends."

He inhales sharply. He has heard the tale of the night that ruined her life. He knows she struggles to not blame _them_ , but does so anyway, and he agrees. Unlike him, however, she never shows her distaste for the creatures.

Her suspicion, he reflects, would not entirely be invalid. Nonetheless, it is not a good idea to declare them aloud. Certainly not in public. People of Arendelle still revere them, or at least tales of them. Not many know of their existence, of course.

But one of the few that do, lives in the castle, and is loyal to a fault. A perfect way to bring down a kingdom. He has no doubt they are clever enough to pull it off, even. There will be little that anyone can do, to save the kingdom.

He wonders which side he should pick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: A shorter chapter, but hopefully one that leads up to the more interesting later ones. The bit about who the spy or traitor might be is purposefully left vague, but feel free to make any guesses in the comments! (Also, apologies to anyone who was following this story here and not on fanfiction.net, since chapter 4 has been up on that platform for a long time)


	5. Chapter 5

"She suspects you."

He says it calmly, but suddenly. All the better to make the other man flinch. And flinch, he does. The Prince finds he enjoys the sight. He has never liked the ice-deliverer anyway. Not because of the reason that the princess assumes, however. It had been mildly narcissistic of her to assume that he is simply jealous. As if he can be, of such a man!

No, he dislikes him for the same reason that the Queen's suspicions have fallen on him. The man is loyal. Too much for his own good, one can argue. But his loyalties lie in a strange place. With the creatures he considers his family. A loyalty that is easy to exploit.

"Who does?"

The man has gone pale, now. His hands are shaking, and not from the cold.

"Not the one you fear. The princess has no inkling of your deeds. The Queen, however..."

He pauses deliberately. The man who stares back at him has pure terror in eyes. Just the expression that had been in the princess' eyes all those years ago, when he had broken the cold, hard truth to her.

"She will have your head, if her suspicions are confirmed, you know." He is really enjoying it far too much. A voice at the back of his mind reminds him that the Queen thought he had been _reformed._ He is not sure she herself believes it completely, but he knows that if she saw him now, it would be a work of mere moments for her to send him away to his brother's dungeon.

But he takes the risk anyway. The simple curiosity of where this path would lead him, is enough to make it worth it. The thrill of working _for the Queen_ , on her own orders, while also working directly _against_ her, is beautiful.

"I could, of course, try to convince her otherwise. She just might listen to the man who she brought to detect this in the first place."

It was an offer, one that Kristoff will not have the choice to refuse. The peasant, for he will never be anything more than one, is furious at his own helplessness. The Prince, however, had anticipated this, knowing his enemy well enough to realise the self-dependent pride he holds in his heart. It makes it all the more interesting to watch the emotions dance across the sullen face.

The silence is broken moments later by a plea, barely vocalised.

"Help me, please."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: RL has been keeping me extremely busy, so apologies for the delayed update! But we finally have some politics brewing!
> 
> Hope you like it!


	6. Chapter 6

"I spoke to him."

She whips her head around to look at him, eyes wide in shock. It is a striking expression on her, he thinks. Within moments, however, the mask is back, and she looks at him through a veil of calmness.

"Don't worry, I have ensured that your future brother-in-law does not hurt you. Not on account of anything I said, at least."

He sees the relief flicker briefly across her eyes, before she turns away.

"You are not to..." she begins, but pauses after a moment.

"Take such steps without your explicit consent?" he finishes for her, and she nods slightly, almost as if she is displeased by his ability to do so.

He smiles in assent. "It won't happen again. I was only trying to make sure you would be safe lest the man tried anything...unusual." He wonders how much of that statement was true. "And Anna's too, of course." A part of him reminds if would be incorrect to not include the younger sister, even if she is little more than an afterthought.

"It is...appreciated. However, it was really quite pointless of you to do so."

The words surprise him, and for a moment he wonders if she has seen through his facade after all. then, he remembers the stories he has heard, and a different explanation creeps into his mind.

"The trolls?"

"Yes."

The single word is tinged with far too many emotions that suddenly strike him. He places his hand on her shoulder, and icy blue eyes bore into his own. He feels the cold, even through the thin layers of fabric of her dress and his own gloves.

There are tears in her eyes, he realises with a start. She is scared, and she has no one to turn to. Except him. And the depth of her trust in him hits him like a blow, knocking the wind out of him. His own scarring memories, all the years of being the hated one, the unlucky one, the one who was never good enough, whirl around him and overwhelm him like the snowstorm on the fjords, long ago which had almost destroyed her.

Perhaps it is the sudden want, no, need, for comfort and company. Perhaps it is the overhanging threat of the trolls. Perhaps it is gratitude. Perhaps it is misery. he doesn't know. he doesn't care. he is only acutely aware of the almost-magnetic force that pulls them together until his burning lips are on her frosty ones.

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: Been a while since I wrote some non Harry Potter stuff. It's always good to come back to some IceBurns! Especially with Fire!Hans!


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